Offshore law firm Mourant Ozannes has made another notable strategic hire to its Cayman Islands practice with the appointment of finance partner James Burch.

James brings with him a wealth of experience advising on some of the most complex corporate and finance transactions across the globe. He specialises in corporate finance, capital markets and asset finance work and has been involved in a number of recent, significant transactions including high yield bonds, aircraft leasing/financings and structured preference share deals.

James relocated to the Hong Kong office of one of the largest offshore law firms in 2011 in order to spearhead the opening of their Singapore office where he has been based as partner for the past two and a half years. Prior to his relocation, James had been in the firm’s Cayman Islands office as part of its market leading finance practice having joined in 2007. He has also held positions at Linklaters and Johnson Stokes & Master (now Mayer Brown JSM), working in London, Hong Kong and Sydney.

Commenting on James’ arrival, Mourant Ozannes’ Cayman Islands managing partner, Peter Hayden, said: “This is an exciting, key hire for Mourant Ozannes and we are delighted to welcome James to the firm. He is a true structured finance specialist and the expertise, knowledge and experience he brings will significantly extend our offering to the North American market.”

Global managing partner Jonathan Rigby commented: “James has an outstanding reputation as a leading lawyer in his field and will play an integral role in the development of our Cayman Islands corporate practice. His multi-jurisdictional expertise and broad experience of the offshore market will assist us to deliver upon our strategic objectives and further build upon our competitive position in the Caribbean.”

James Burch added: “I am looking forward to joining Mourant Ozannes and being part of the team responsible for driving the firm’s corporate strategy forward. The firm has both an enviable client list and an excellent reputation and I’m excited to be able to contribute to the growth and development of the practice.”

This is the second significant partner hire for Mourant Ozannes’ Cayman practice in 2014. In May of this year, insolvency and restructuring expert Christopher Harlowe joined the litigation team from Speechly Bircham in London.